In the world of creative communities a customer launches their project (for logos, corporate identities, banners, websites, etc.) and designers respond with their proposals. The customer, here, has the possibility to get amazing designs from creatives from all over the world and the creatives have the possibility to show his best works to all the community, creating contacts with international clients. But, in the jungle of logo design, there is a tricky trap: the spreading of the generic logos. Most of the time the logo is so generic, the customer isn’t even able to get a trademark for it.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and they’re right. Whether you realize it or not, how your marketing collateral looks influences how prospects and customers see your business. So, it’s important that you choose a graphic designer who knows how to visually communicate what your brand is all about.

There’s a dirty little secret that some graphic designers hope you don’t find out: they don’t know how to use graphic design to market your product or service. Unfortunately, some designers get so caught up in just making things look “good” that they forget that great websites don’t just look good, they convert well too. Having a beautiful website that doesn’t convert is like having a gorgeous store with windows but no doors—it may get a lot of street traffic, but it’s not going to help you make any sales. At Graphic Design by Lisa, we understand what you need: a website that looks good, is easy to use, and drives sales. And, more importantly, we understand how to make that happen. We don’t just make websites, we make websites that work.

So what makes a good logo, and how do you get one? And how much is it going to cost? These are important questions most small business owners ask. There are a number of great articles from marketing analysts, design gurus, and business advisors out there that you can reference, but here are some basic ideas you can count on. Logo design typically falls into three major categories: big agencies, impersonal budget options, and independent professional logo designers.

Logo design is an art form with a lot of thought, method and purpose behind it. And to be effective, your logo design should be able to answer “Yes!” to these five questions: 1. Am I good looking in black and white? Even though we live in a technical age, it should ideally be just as strong in simple black on white (or black on a color for a t-shirt or hat) as it is in full color. Using color to brand with is fine, but your logo should have other elements that make it memorable without relying totally on color.

Redesign projects are always interesting because usually you are working with existing data and trying to put a fresh face on it. I find it best to do a little investigating even if the client is happy with the existing content. For instance, which pages are getting the most attention? How effective are the conversion pages? How effective are the calls-to-action? If there is a shopping cart in place, where are people aborting the process? All these things need to be looked it. In a way, it’s better than starting from scratch because you do have a chance to fix what’s not working and improve upon those areas that are. However, redesigns are not just design projects, they are also a redo of the way you are presenting yourself marketing-wise, content-wise and design-wise, and usually come with a technical upgrade.